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Survivors (Songfic)
SURVIVORS A TRIBUTE TO SURVIVORS BY RAINY. a special for rise oa: selena gomez (album revival) counterpart: rise (songfic) Survivors Wild, wild, wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild, wild, wild "Come on!" Karina shouted, her golden eyes blazing even in the bright light from the sun, "Don't be such a kit, Terran! We're just going to go hunting in the forest, it's not a big deal." "I like hunting on the plains," the gray-white tom complained, "I don't have to worry about tripping over anything and you know the stories--" "I'm not scared of stories," Karina rolled her eyes. Terran caught up to his sister. "You know what Mother told us about the forest. Not only are there Vipers, there are wolves." "Wolves? I can fight off anything," Karina dismissed, "Plus, they aren't real Vipers and you know it. They're just cats anyways." When Terran still looked uncertain, Karina pushed the issue further, "Plus, Father is part of the Vipers anyways. We'll be fine--" "We don't even know Father!" Terran pulled away from his sister, "We're going to get ourselves killed in that forest." Karina's golden eyes only seem to brighten, "All the better! I love a challenge." "I hate it when you take risks," Terran groaned. "I hate it when you take risks," Karina corrected, "You hate it when I leave the den." "No, you hate it when I leave the den!" Terran exclaimed, "You're so overprotective." "After what happened with Bree? Of course I'm going to be protective," Karina faced her brother, "now come on, if we don't head out now, we're going to have no prey to bring back to Mother. You know she's carrying kits." She turned and barreled into the forest without another word. Terran could only sigh and follow along, praying fervently that nothing would go wrong. Mmm You built me from a broken heart With bricks you made from broken parts The forest floor was littered with leaves, Terran noted. Karina pranced through them, the leaves crunching loudly under her paws. "Karina!" Terran hissed loudly, "We shouldn't be so loud. We don't know this territory; we shouldn't declare our presence so early." "Stop fretting," the dark gray she-cat chided, "we'll be fine." Terran rolled his eyes. He was glad his sister was always here for him. He remembered when he was younger and his best friend had mysteriously died of an unknown disease. Karina had been there for him, her golden eyes warm, her voice soothing and relaxing compared to the face of grief and sorrow. "Terran!" Karina's excited squeal shook him out of his stupor. He raced through the forest and found her staring in utter glee at the stash of berries on the floor. "Look!" He peered at the berries. "What are they?" "Only one way to find out!" Karina smushed a berry in her paw and licked the juice before Terran could stop her. She frowned at its taste and Terran pawed the ground nervously. Surely Karina wouldn't-- "You've got to try this!" Karina shoves a berry non-too-gently into Terran's mouth. He choked on it for a second before he tasted the sweet scent of it. Karina began spliting the berries. "Stars, this is the best tasting berry I've ever tasted in my life!" Terran could only silently agree. "Told you coming into the forest was a great idea," Karina teased, her shoulder bumping his. He gave her a tiny smile, remembering the days when they were still young and innocent, their hearts set on recreating the world around them as they pleased. You've fixed the paint, so we could start So now what's mine is ours Bree was Terran's best friend. He remembered her clearly, with her bright green eyes and her tinkling laugh that lit up his days. He remembered the way her golden fur caught the sunlight and glowed, even in the dimmest light. He remembered her sweet, whispered words, as well as her sharp, teasing ones. He had loved every part of her and now she was gone. He remembered every part of her death. The way they had strolled through the fields and Bree had said goodbye for the last time. He had a frozen smile on his face as he watched her walk away until she was out of sight. But before he could turn away himself, a scream of horror lit the air. Karina had found him crouched over Bree's body, crying over her lifeless form. The way her eyes glazed over and the way a small stream of blood trickled from her mouth. The way her body was unmarked but stained with flower juice and the scent of different carnations filled the air. Tipped in an unnatural form, Bree was certainly dead. Terran didn't smile for three moons. He didn't laugh, he didn't try to be the optimistic brother he had been when he had Bree. But Karina helped him. She told him jokes every day. She took him on reckless adventures yet was still overprotective of him. When Mother reprimanded them for risking their lives, Karina brushed it off and told Terran that they would do it again tomorrow. She made his life worth it, he decided, and he liked his new style of life. With or without Bree, at least he was still happy. I still have proof in form of scars The first time always falls so far Those healing wounds heal twice as hard Terran wasn't sure what hurt the most: his heart, his scars, or his mind. His heart from all the pain and grief he had suffered, his scars from Karina's reckless adventures through brambles and things of that sort, and his mind from just Karina's exhausting chattering. He bobbed his head, trying to look like he was listening to his sister. Karina was blabbering about what they were going to do tomorrow and how they would get infinite amount of prey for their mother and their soon to be born brothers and sisters. "So?" Karina glanced expectantly at Terran. "Sure," he mumbled mindlessly. "You want to go fox-hunting with me?" Karina's eyes bulged, "I can't believe this!" She turned and raced into the den, "Mother! Terran actually wants to go fox-hunting with me!" Terran groaned and buried his head into his paws. "Karina, I didn't agree to that!" "You said yes!" She hollered from inside the den, which got her a reprimand from their mother to stay quiet. Karina bounded back outside. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" "Tomorrow," Terran sighed. Karina squealed in obvious joy and flopped down next to her brother. She trailed her tail over one his older scars, the one that marked his front forepaw. "I remember this one," she said, tipping her head, "you and Bree were chasing each other around and you tripped and scraped yourself with the largest and sharpest stick I had ever seen." Terran shifted his gaze to stare at the scar. "It was my first one," he agreed, "and it took the longest to heal." Karina smiled a bit. "I like it." But now what's mine is ours But now what's mine is ours Terran was used to believing that he was the only one who suffered from Bree's death. But he realized that there were others who lost Bree as well. There were her parents, Karina, and all of Bree's friends. Terran was just her best friend. Terran didn't go to Bree's funeral. He didn't want to remember finding her dead, Viper scent all over her. Karina went and told him how drab it was. "Incredibly boring!" She declared, "Bree would have hated it." "I bet," Terran mumbled back to her that day, "I mean, who likes their own funeral day?" Karina laid down next to Terran and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know I didn't mean it that way," she nudged her brother, "you aren't alone in this." "I know," he closed his eyes, "I should have gone." "Nah," Karina licked a stray tuft of fur, "I think there's more of Bree here than there was at the funeral. Her spirit is with us," she poked him near his heart with one claw, "not with her body." Terran opened his eyes. "You know whatever mine is ours to keep right? We always share." "Of course," Karina rolled her eyes, "We're littermates." Terran smiled and nestled against Karina, letting her warmth wash over him. We are survivors We are survivors of the wild "Come on!" Bree laughed, her eyes shimmering with happiness, "Catch me if you can!" Terran knew he would never be able to catch her but he tried anyway. He dashed after her, legs pumping, chasing her across the meadow. Karina rarely joined in, so she wasn't here today. Terran swerved, trying to intercept Bree but she just giggled and spun around instead, causing Terran to go rocketing in the opposite direction. She slowed so he could tackle her. "Got you!" He shouted, even though he knew fully well Bree let him catch her. "You're too fast," she purred, playing along. Her green eyes glimmered, contrast to her light brown tabby pelt. She poked one of his muscles with one claw. "You are getting stronger though," she smiled. "Have you and Karina started some basic training?" "Karina insists on it; my mother doesn't care so much. She just wants us to be able to protect ourselves, while Karina wants me to be able to just not get hurt." "Maybe Karina can teach me a few moves one day," Bree shrugged, "My parents don't care so much about training." "Have you heard about the group called the Vipers? They set up camp not far from here." Terran rolled off of Bree and onto his back. "Yeah, my parents have talked about joining them." Bree suddenly took on a serious look. "I don't want to join a group of cats. That makes me feel like I have to rely on them. Become dependent and help raise whoever joins. I'd like to stay independent, where I can make my own decisions, protect the cats I want to protect." "Is there more value to that?" Terran argued, "Being in a group can allow you to survive together." "I think the survivors are the ones who make the right choices, not the one who lives." Bree said solemnly. We are survivors We are survivors of the wild "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Terran persisted, following Karina towards what was nicknamed the "Dip". "I mean, aren't there cats living over there...on both sides?" "Sounds about right," Karina grinned. "You're insane." "You know you love me." Karina fired back. Terran sighed. He loved his sister very much, but sometimes she was way too outgoing. "You're always bent on protecting me, so why do you always insist on making me come out with you and do crazy antics?" "Because you're boring and you need to live a little. Plus, if you stay in the den all day, there's nothing for me to protect you from." "And that's boring too?" Terran rolled his eyes. Karina purred. "We're just taking a small peek, that's all. It's not like I'm going to ask you to talk to any of them or fight them." "Stars, I hope not." They ended up almost crashing into a Viper patrol and had to run all the way back up the Dip just to escape them. Terran was out of breath by the time they collapsed at their den and he weakly swiped at Karina. "I-I'm going to kill you!" He gasped out. Karina just started laughing and laughing. Terran couldn't help but smile a bit because he supposed they were being survivors in the wild. Everyone has to live a little, right? My sweet devoted counterpart We kept each other's shooting stars However close, however far Terran laid there next to Karina, feeling content for the first time in a long time. Karina was quiet, almost too quiet in the night air. The white tom thought that his sister had fallen asleep until she turned and whispered something in his ear. "Look," she pointed with one paw. "Look?" Terran echoed, confused. Karina was pointing at the night sky, where beautiful stars glittered, their brightness contrast against the inky black sky. "Yeah, idiot, look." "I see stars," Terran muttered. "Just stars?" Karina rolled her eyes, "Are you blind? Watch carefully! You'll see it eventually. I've already seen it a couple times." "I see...the night sky." Terran supplied, "Every time I look to the side of the star, I see it. I think I've seen it more than a couple times." He twitched his whiskers, knowing this wasn't what Karina wanted him to see. But he couldn't figure out exactly what she was pointing out. "No," Karina smacked Terran with one paw. "The shooting stars." He studied the night sky closely and realized Karina was right. Once in awhile, a shooting star would flit across the night sky, a bright streak. "You and me," his sister purred when two shooting stars passed by together, side by side. "That's us, Terran." The stars were already gone but he found himself nodding along, believing her every word. Whatever's mine is ours Whatever's mine is ours Even though Karina was never super close to Bree, she would come and hang out with her and Terran because she was bored. Though she always said Terran was lying, Terran suspected Karina only came along because she wanted to show Terran that she shared his interests. "Where's Bree?" Karina muttered, looking around impatiently, "Did you get the place right?" "It's always the same place," Terran mumbled back. "You got lost once." Karina reminded him, still peering around. He ducked his head. "That was different. We couldn't meet here because there was foxes so Bree told me to go somewhere else. She wasn't clear on which hill though--there are tons of hills around here!" He waved his tail at all the hills piling around them. "Then where is Bree?" "I don't know," Terran rolled his eyes, feeling fed up for once. "If you don't want to wait for her, then don't! Nobody asked you to come." Karina stopped looking and Terran was afraid he went too far. Karina glanced back him, her golden eyes uncertain. Terran was about to apologize when she grinned. "Don't be silly," she scolded, "whatever's mine is ours. So naturally, whatever's yours is also ours!" We are survivors We are survivors of the wild "Have you heard of the Clans?" Bree brought up one day. "The Clans?" Terran echoed. He had never heard of them. The only other group he knew of was the Vipers, who lived close to where his den was. "Yeah," Bree nodded enthusiastically, "They live kind of far from here, opposite of the Vipers. There are two Clans: DuskClan and DawnClan. Sounds like opposites of one another." Terran pondered over this, "Would you join a Clan?" "Maybe," Bree shrugged, "I've told you before I wouldn't join the Vipers but maybe the Clans are different." From the way her eyes glowed, Terran knew she had thought this through. "My parents have talked about moving there too. We might actually do it." Terran's eyes widened. He knew for certain his mother never had plans to leave their little den in the countryside. He couldn't imagine Bree, his kithood best friend, leaving. "For real?" "I'd visit all the time," Bree promised, "because we've survived in the wild together." "But you hate groups," Terran protested feebly. "Yeah," Bree bobbed her head in a nod, "but the Clans are different. They work together in harmony and peace and protect one another the proper way. They make the right choices and that to me matters the most." Terran could only recall her words on being a survivor. We are survivors We are survivors of the wild Someone was prodding Terran in the side. He grumbled and tried to move the paw aside so he could get a little more sleep. "Terran!" Someone hissed in his ear. "Go away, Karina." "It's not Karina," the voice hissed again, "it's Bree." Terran opened his eyes, really confused. Karina was indeed standing in front of him, grinning from ear to ear. "Tricked you!" She crowed, "Now come on." She dragged him out of his nest and out of the den, careful not to wake their mother. "You trickster," Terran yawned. "I knew you'd wake up if I was pretending to be Bree. You'd do anything for that she-cat." "She's my best friend," Terran peered at his sister, "You'd do anything for me." "But that's different," Karian dismissed, "I'm your sister and you're my idiotic brother." She trotted a few paces ahead. "Look who's talking," Terran mumbled, still upset that she had woken him up to take a stroll outside in the middle of the night. "Where are we going?" "You'll see." After walking for some while, Karina finally stopped. "Look," she said breathlessly, sweeping her tail at the small grove before them. There were blooming night flowers, glowing in the moon's soft light. There was also fireflies, darting about, acting like little stars themselves. It was a gorgeous sight, and Terran immediately forgave his sister for waking him from his slumber. "Beautiful," he murmured. "I know I am." Karina smirked. We are survivors We are survivors of the wild "What do you think these are?" Karina frowned down at berries that are midnight blue. "Do you think they'll be tasty? They smell pretty tasty." "Don't eat it," Terran warned her, "you don't know if it's poisonous or not." "Don't be silly," Karina dismissed before promptly wolfing down the berries. Terran yelped and tried to get her to spit them back out but she deliberately swallowed them while he was watching. "Karina!" Terran lashed his tail. He ran in a circle around her, "Do I need to find someone who can cure you? Is this going to be immediate death or a slow one?" "Slow one," Karina grinned, "I'm going to die of old age." "Don't joke!" Terran glared at her, "This is serious." "Relax, dummy," Karina rolled her eyes, "I saw a few birds eating these the other day so I wanted to pull a prank on you. Plus, they're really good." Terran sagged in relief. "Don't kid with me like that!" "We're survivors," Karina laughed, "we have to take risks." We are survivors (we are survivors) We are survivors of the wild "Karina!" Terran called from outside of the den, "Are you coming out or not?" "Coming!" She mumbled, though she was still heavy from sleep. No way was she getting out of her nest, even if Terran was the one trying to get her out. The white tom waited another five minutes before sighing dramatically and exchanging a glance with the she-cat next to him. "Sorry Bree," he apologized, "Karina must be doing this on purpose because she knows we're going on an adventure with you today." "No worries," Bree purred, "Karina is like a sister to me." Terran stalked into the den and found Karina fast asleep. "Wake up," he prodded her with one paw. "You promised you'd come today." "Sleep," Karina said forcefully, "we had a night run yesterday." "Correction, you did. I slept because I knew we'd be waking up early today." "Why can't we go later?" "Because the sun is rising soon and Bree knows the best spot. Didn't you say we're survivors? Even survivors have to suffer a little. Get your sorry tail out of your nest and we can sleep later when the sun rises." Karina opened one eye. "Promise?" "Yeah, sure," Terran turned to walk back out the door. "You better be promising me this!" Karina muttered as she dragged herself after him, "Or someone is going to pay for making me wake up so early." "Don't forget," Terran rolled his eyes, "there were times when you'd shake me awake in the middle of the night just to go for a quick hike." Woahoooo (we are, we are) Woahoooo (we are, we are) "Ready?" Bree whispered, her green eyes bright and full of anticipation. "Ready." She sucked in her breath but hesitated and giggled instead. Terran poked her with one paw. "Come on! We've been crouched here for so long that my paws feel so numb." "Where's Karina?" "She left to go hunting," Terran twitched his whiskers, "now hurry up!" "Okay," Bree giggled again. "But I can't believe we've spent so much time here just to do this." "Me too," Terran poked her again, "so hurry before Karina finds us still crouched here. She'll kill me for not helping her with hunting. She already thinks we're ridiculous." "Who cares?" Bree smiled, making Terran smile as well. Still, she turned her head and blew one long breath, scattering the seeds of the dandalion flower. Terran watched as the seeds caught in the wind and were swept away. They were specks of white in the darkening sky, almost like snow, except they were floating upwards. Woahoooo(we are, we are) We are survivors of the wild "Mother's sick," Karina finally said as they sat outside their den. "I know," Terran ducked his head and looked behind him where they could hear their mother's coughing. "But we don't know anything about herbs." "We have to do something," Karina's golden eyes were fierce with the love Terran knew she only held for her family. "I'm not just going to let her die." Terran bobbed his head. "Me too." "Then let's go." "Go?" Terran scrambled his sister, mostly to make sure she didn't do something stupid, "Go where? We don't know anyone or anything. We can't risk our lives when someone needs to take care of Mother." "Fine," Karina jabbed her paw into his chest, "You stay back and watch over her while she withers away and dies. I'm going to find a cure for her sickness." "Listen to you," Terran sighed, "you're becoming delirious because of your pain and grief." "Don't lecture me on pain and grief," Karina snapped, "like you dealt with Bree's death all that well." Terran frowned. "This doesn't have anything to do with Bree." "It does! I held you up when you fell down because she died. Who's going to hold us up when Mother dies? No one. I can't let us both fall." Terran put his paw over his sister's. "You know what you always say? We're survivors: we won't fall. Even if Mother is gone, we'll move on. I moved on from Bree, didn't I?" Karina stared into his eyes, pain etched on her face. But still, she nodded. Woahoooo (we are, we are) Woahoooo (we are, we are) Woahoooo(we are, we are) "Do you ever wonder where cats go when they die?" Karina and Terran were sitting under the stars, the sounds of their mother's coughs fading in the background. It was hard to tell whether or not she was actually getting better, but Terran and his sister tried their best to get the right medicine for her. "Yeah." The dark gray she-cat glanced at her brother. "Where do they go?" "Dunno," he admited, "but I've heard rumors that they go to the stars." "The stars?" Karina peered above them at the bright dots. "Those little things?" "I mean, it's just the soul, right?" Terran reasoned, "The body is returned to the ground. Where does the soul go? It must be light if the cat have no sins, so it flies up to the sky." Karina was quiet for a moment. "I guess that makes sense." "You wondering where you'll end up one day?" "Yeah." Terran pointed at one of the brightest stars in the sky. "I think you could always claim that star." "What if that already has a soul?" Karina persisted, "What if there are no more stars left for me?" "That won't happen," Terran reasoned, "if every star already has a soul, you'd just make a new one and we could share." They were silent after that and Terran knew she wasn't actually worried about herself. She was worried that when Mother died, she would have nowhere nice to go. But the stars seemed like a perfect spot for their gentle mother. We are survivors of the wild We are survivors of the wild We are survivors (woah) "She's gone," Karina whispered, eyes full of pain. Terran wrapped his tail around his sister, hoping his presense was enough for Karina. She leaned into him. "We tried everything. We asked everyone for the right herbs." "There was no actual cure," Terran reminded her, "everyone who looked at her told us that. We just never accepted it." "How could you be so calm?" Karina suddenly cried out, hitting him with her paws. "That's our mother, Terran. She's dead." "I know," Terran blinked, "but we can't fall." A sob escaped his sister and he held her close. "Come on, your famous phrase can't fail now." "We're survivors," she murmured. "Yeah and there's no way we're going to let this bring us down. Our mother wouldn't want us to dwell on her death. She'd want us to move on, so we can keep going. We have to live our own lives, Karina. Haven't we done that already? It's not Mother really cared what we did." "Where should we go? I don't want to live alone anymore." "The group," Terran reasoned, "Mother once told us our father came from there." Karina took in a deep breath and bowed her head over their mother's grave. "I'll miss her." "I will too." We are survivors of the wild We are survivors (we are survivors) "Do you see that star?" Terran pointed right above them, "That's a new one." "It's Mother," Karina concluded. "Yeah." Karina smiled for the first time since they left their den. "I like it. It's simplistic, just like how she would have liked it. Do you think when we die, we'll join her?" "Maybe, maybe not." Terran shrugged, "But I definitely want to share a star with you." "Me too." They were drawing closer and closer to Viper territory. Terran felt his nerves start to act up but Karina acted so calm. "Are you nervous?" "No," Karina said truthfull, "We're survivors: we can do anything." Terran smiled with her. "I like it." "We're survivors," she repeated. "We're survivors." We are survivors of the wild The End. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Rise Category:Survivors